While many women were receiving flowers or gifts from their boyfriends or husbands this Chinese Valentine’s Day, on Aug 20, Luo Shouyan had to claim the remains of her husband, Yin Yanrong, from personnel at the city of Harbin’s Taiping International Airport.

Yin, 25, was an only child in his family from the countryside of the province, but found a job with the fire department branch of the military in the city of Tianjin. He’d just had his wedding ceremony, only 12 days before he was killed in the massive explosions, on Aug 12.

It was a nightmare for the family, especially with Luo pregnant and the news hit his grandparents especially hard since they had raised him from the age of 3, when his parents divorced. The elderly couple were shattered when they heard the news and were taken to hospital. Yin Yanrong’s father, Yin Chengyi, said, “My son was a tender, filial child.”

Yin Chengyi holds the remains of his son, a heroic firefighter, Harbin’s Taiping International Airport, on Aug 20. [Photo/my399.com]

He went on to recall, “When he was a child, he would serve his grandparents dinner. It became a habit. And when he came back during spring festival, he did it the same way he did in childhood, ” then added that his son had wanted to be a soldier from an early age, so if his child-to-come is a boy, he will support his grandson if he wants to join the army just like his son did.

Local enterprises and individuals also tried to comfort the family and help them get through their grief and difficulties by raising funds and making donations.